Northants couple with combined age of 163 tie the knot at Kelmarsh Hall

Roddie and Pauline Paterson tied the knot on Saturday (October 13) at Kelmarsh Hall in front of family and friends.It was an emotional day for Roddie, 86, and Pauline, 77, with ‘not a dry eye in the house’.Roddie, a former steelworks engineer, said: “Age is just a number.“When I had that ring on my finger I felt so happy.”The couple, who both moved to Corby in the 1950s, first met when they and their late partners became friends at a ladies’ night.Pauline, her husband of 55 years Alan, Roddie and his wife of 52 years Margo went to events such as dances at St Andrew’s as a four.When they were both widowed, Pauline rang Roddie and asked if he wanted to go on holiday to Scotland 18 months ago.They became close on holiday and Roddie proposed - but Pauline, a retired florist and Highland dancing teacher, said no.But when Roddie left Corby to return to Kent, where he was living at the time, Pauline realised she had made a mistake.Pauline said: “I said cheerio to him but as soon as the car went around the corner I knew I didn’t want him to go.”Three weeks later Pauline told Roddie she wanted him to come back to Corby - and that her answer was now a ‘yes’.Pauline’s daughter Lorraine set about organising the big day at the historic house to the north of Northampton. It was an action-packed day with 82 sit-down guests and more than 100 in the evening.There was entertainment from Corby’s Skelding School of Highland Dance, Wellingborough’s Kilburn School of Dance and songs from grand-daughters Hannah and Rhian, including a surprise duet, as well as Hannah’s pop group Girl Project.The couple also thanked Corby piper Scott Morton, Peter Scatterty on the accordion and Dave on the piano for their ‘excellent’ performances.Pauline walked down the aisle to Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and their first dance as husband and wife was a Pride of Erin Scottish dance to Doris Day’s ‘It’s Magic’ - the very first dance they had together.Pauline said: “I think we cried all day, everybody did.”Roddie wore a kilt and said Pauline looked beautiful in her dress.He said: “It was just a wonderful day, it really was.“She looked 16 again coming down that aisle.”Pauline heaped praise on her daughter Lorraine for organising everything, including a honeymoon to Tenerife, as well as Kelmarsh Hall manageress Donna for her help on the day.And she said: “I want to do it all over again.”Pauline and Roddie may be one of Northamptonshire’s oldest couples to marry but their wedding won’t make it into the Guinness World Records.That record belongs to Doreen (91) and George Kirby (103) who wed in Eastbourne in 2015 with an aggregate age of 194.